Yu Yu Hakusho: Love is Sacrifice
by Shei B. Kroeker
Summary: A short, one-shot story about a young girl who became close friends with the Spirit Detectives, especially Hiei, and teaches them all a lesson about sacrifice


Love is Sacrifice

_-by Shei McCall_

_This story was a commissioned piece by a friend on a different site. All credits are as follows:_

_Honami Ichimonji is (c) **devilsblackrose66 **at ( Daxius Hishoru, Zaq Kimosha are (c) me, **Shei McCall **( Hiei, Yu Yu Hakusho and all things related are (c) **Yoshihiro Togashi**_

"Good morning, class," the science teacher greeted us this morning at Meiou High School.

"Good morning, Youmaki Sensei," we all responded uniformly and standing up respectfully.

"Please be seated. Now, your exam papers have been graded, and once again, Ichimonji, Honami made the top score for this class. Well, Miss Ichimonji, this puts you at number three in the whole school following Kaito, Yu who himself is only second to Minamino, Shuichi."

"Yay for me…" I responded lethargically flashing double peace signs with my hands and wearing a fake smile.

I was not trying to be a smart-ass…I was just really bored and tired of hearing about how great a student I was and how much better Shuichi and Yu were. Youmaki Sensei was the worst when comparing me with those boys. I tried not to let it bother me, being as Shuichi was one of my best friends, but sometimes the words got under my skin and I act out sarcastically towards everyone. However, for the most part I am rather shy and am easy to get along with.

Let us see…I guess I am a bit "over developed" for my age, so it is no real secret that I wear a sarashi to sort of flatten my breasts a little…and speaking of secrets, I have got one that would shame all the "big fish" stories ever told: today would be the day that I die…

Okay…that may have sounded a bit over-dramatic, but this is only a one-chapter story after all. Let me explain by finishing off this school day. Youmaki Sensei was explaining the concept of photosynthesis in plants when I saw a little winged creature perched upon his shoulder. At first, I thought it was a dragonfly that managed to get in one of the opened windows, but as I looked on lazily, I could see it was no insect of any kind. I jumped to my feet quite suddenly and much to the surprise of the rest of the class (I am shy, remember?).

"Youmaki Sensei!" I shouted frantically, slamming my hands on my desk.

"Yes, Miss Ichimonji?" he responded casually, "Do you have an answer to my question?"

I flushed a little from embarrassment. I had not heard him ask a question, but I decided to use this opportunity to snatch the flying creature; "Um, y-yeah," I stammered, walking to the front of the room, "W-what was the question again?"

"_What is photosynthesis, and how does it work?_ You may use any examples you want."

"Um, right…well, let's use plants then," I began to use big hand gestures in an attempt to catch the creature without looking too much like a fool, "first, a plant has to harness the light energy from the sun's rays and convert it into chemical energy," I reached and missed, "It would use carbon dioxide and water as raw materials," I reached again and missed, "and in the end create oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sucrose and starch. Basically…" I caught the creature then gave the teacher a thumbs-up to hide my action, "…photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy to chemical energy by living organisms."

I put my hands behind my back to hide my "spazzing-fingers" as the creature squirmed in my grasp. Youmaki Sensei applauded me softly.

"Impressive, Honami," he said with a light chuckle, "I never thought you could be so extroverted at will—I mean, those were some pretty interesting moves you had going on there. Good work."

"Thank you, Youmaki Sensei…um, may I be excused, please, sir?"

The class laughed a little as Youmaki nodded. I grabbed the hall pass and darted towards the girl's room. I slammed the creature hard on his butt onto the counter. The blue miniature human-like being stood up quickly massaging his bottom and whimpering childishly. He had wings like a bat and two tiny devil horns poking out his brow. His green hair was spiked up and his eyes were crimson. He wore only a pair of loose black slacks and a gold bar-bell earring in the cartilage of his left ear.

"Gee, Honami!" he shrilled, "You've gotten a lot meaner since we've been hanging out with Yusuke!"

"What are you doing here, Dax?" I asked angrily, "You can't just come into my school and wreak havoc whenever you please!"

Dax grinned innocently as he began to speak. I ignored most of the babbling he called an explanation. Daxius Hishoru was a mini-yokai from the Makai, or "Demon Realm"…oh, how do I know that? Well, I was born with this unique gift called "Spirit Awareness." I can see things normal humans cannot like wayward spirits or annoying demons running amuck. I can also read energy levels, though I am still learning to harness this specific ability. This is kind of what caused me to become friends with Minamino, Shuichi…or more accurately Yoko Kurama. Yeah…turns out he was really a demon in human form! He did not have to tell me that, though. His energy level had caused me to pass out in gym class one day, and he knew it. When I came to, he apologized and explained what had happened. It was shortly afterwards when I met the Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi, his friend Kazuma Kuwabara, and the pint-sized Fire yokai Hiei. We all became close friends. Koenma, the ruler of Reikai, then decided he wanted me to train to be the next Spirit Detective once I tamed my power, therefore Hiei agreed to help me get my "gift" under control so that high energies would not cause me to black out anymore. He is kind of a tough coach and a little mean sometimes, but I have shown him that I was no pushover myself! Yeah, the short one and I do not always see eye-to-eye…to-eye? However, he is the one who chose to help me control and use my "gift," then work on my martial arts skills, so I try not to get under his skin…much. Actually, since we are telling secrets, I kind of have this…this…crush -cringes- on him…I cringe because Hiei freaks me out, and I actually like it!

Oh, Dax? Sorry. In my little ramble, I seemed to have forgotten about him. I actually captured Daxius Hishoru, much to his surprise, when I was eight—at that point my powers fluctuated recklessly, but they went pretty much unnoticed by normal people. Since then, Dax has been my best friend and loyal companion. He would protect me from my small fears…like birds. Yeah, ever since that Alfred Hitchcock movie, I never looked at birds the same. In fact, when the guys learned I was afraid of those little winged devils, Yusuke and Kuwabara got it into their heads to invite me on a zoo trip with them and the girls Keiko Yukimura and Yukina. Those four plotted together to "help" me get over my bird fear by leading me into an open bird-cage paddock and "losing" me. I will not go into too much detail about that little trick. Let us just say that when I finally caught up with them, I gave Yusuke and Kuwabara a "personal exhibition" of my Kung Fu skills—the ones I had known long before I had ever met these guys and that were constantly getting perfected with Hiei's training.

Oh right, Dax…sorry, I got distracted again. Well, lately, Dax has been playing messenger between me and my 'teacher' Hiei, hence the reason he was here now.

"Hiei sent me, Honami," Dax finally got to the point after rambling needlessly about nothing, "He said you're late for training, and he's coming here to take you to Reikai to spar."

My jaw dropped in irritation; "Excuuuuse me?!" I growled, "Well, you just go and tell _Shorty-chan_ that I'm skipping out today…to go to school!!"

"Tell me that yourself, little girl," came that all too familiar cold voice.

I fell over in surprise then clumsily stood back up…I cannot help feeling nervous when I am around him. I get that way around people I secretly like. Yeah, I talk a tough game when he is not around, but when he IS around, I get squirmy. However, I think I do a good job of hiding my feelings by heckling him the way Kuwabara does.

"Dammit, Hiei!" I screamed, adjusting the stupid skirt I was wearing—I hate school uniforms, "Don't do that! At least warn me before you surprise me…and what in heaven's name are you doing in the girl's bathroom, you freak?!"

He seemed to be taken aback by my sudden outburst. He was used to my heckling and smart-ass remarks, but I had never freaked out like that. I was usually pretty submissive to him. He grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me out of the restroom and into the hall where we bumped into Kurama. He did not look so pleased to see Hiei at this time.

"Are you insane, Hiei?" he asked his old friend, "You are going to get her expelled from school!"

"Hn. Then she'll have more time to practice her techniques." Hiei retorted.

"You ass!" I spat.

"What did you say, Miss Ichimonji?!" a woman's voice boomed from behind us. It was Miakara Sensei, Meiou High's vice principal, "We do not tolerate such language here, young lady! And Mister Minamino? Cutting class? This is unlike both of you! I'm going to have to assign you two to detention."

Kurama and I sweat-dropped then answered together: "Yes, Miakara Sensei."

The two of us turned angrily to Hiei who had quickly disappeared when Miakara showed up. We both fell back.

After that ordeal, Kurama walked me home while Dax sat on my shoulder enjoying the breeze. I had long since confided in him about my feelings for Hiei, knowing that he would not tell unless I said it was okay. I also knew that because of Hiei's Koorime lineage, he was almost incapable of returning such feelings, though Kurama says no one is fully devoid of such emotions. If they were, Hiei would not even exist. Kurama and I parted ways at my door, and I made my way up to my room. Dax had become fascinated with television after being in the Ningenkai, or "Human World," for so many years, so he remained in the family room and watched TV perched on my father's shoulder—no, my parents could not see him.

In my room, I gathered a change of clothes—wide-legged and slightly baggy blue jeans and a tee shirt and my large brown hoodie—and went into my bathroom to change. Yeah, I know what you are thinking: "She must me self-conscious about her looks…blah, blah, blah…" Well, you would be, too if you were a sixteen-year-old who is "well-endowed" with a thirty-six double-D bust size! I walked back to my room with the intention of collapsing on my bed and going to sleep…

"It's about time, Honami," a voice about made me jump straight out of my skin.

"Ahh!" I fell back—huh, three times in one day should be a new record or something. When I got back up, I saw Hiei standing in my window; "For the love of the Ningenkai!" I shouted, "You know I can't sense your presence, Hiei! Stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"Hn," the fire demon grunted ignoring my complaint, "I thought your little imp friend told you we were sparring today."

"Dax is not an imp," I corrected, "he is a miniature gargoyle, and yes, he delivered your message…after which you showed up and got me and Kurama put in detention for a week! I was lucky I didn't get expelled for that little explicit I made in front of a teacher…"

Hiei cocked an eyebrow at me curiously, like he knew something I did not. I knew he did not really care about my school, so I do not even know why I bothered telling him all that. He just stood there looking at me expectantly. Finally, I just gave in.

"All right," I sighed acquiescently, "I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes…I have to come up with a story to tell my folks."

I left him and told my parents that "Shuichi" wanted us to go to the library and study together. I was sure Kurama would not have minded if I used him as an excuse to take care of my training—not to mention, my mother has no idea about Hiei, and she does not like me being around kids from Sarayashki Junior High, which totally ruled out hanging with Yusuke and Kuwabara. Anyway, once I cleared it with Dad (because that is what Mom says: "Ask your father"), I had to clear it with Mom again (because that is what Dad says: "Ask your mother")—and this went on for fifteen minutes before they both agree to just let me go. Dax also came along.

Once outside, I meet up with Hiei, who was already aggravated from waiting; "What took so long, baka?!" he nearly yelled, "We've wasted a lot of time already!"

"Not my fault," I answered casually, "especially since you cost yourself time by coming to my school."

Hiei smirked at that…kind of creepy (I do not think I had ever seen him come close to smiling before); "Touché," he said, "Let's go; hop on."

He carried me piggy-back style as he leaped through the trees and across rooftops at lightning speed. We stopped at a clearing in the forest where there was a portal waiting to transport us to the Reikai, or "Spirit World." It was going to be a short while before the portal would be ready, so we waited. I began wondering what Hiei thought about me…I mean what he REALLY thought. I knew how he acted. I knew that with the exception of Yusuke, Hiei actually loathed humans, especially powerful ones. Normally, I was not into guys who were shorter than me, and Hiei was about six and a half inches closer to the ground than I was (not counting that high-standing hair). However, there was something about him that really captured me…perhaps those eyes? Those piercing red orbs glistened like crimson jewels, and even though I get angry with him, he seems to always win over my "obedience." Perhaps it was his honor? No matter what your race was, if you were lucky enough to gain Hiei's respect, he would show such a strong loyalty to you. Perhaps it was the things he said to me? …Hmm, or maybe not. The words that flew between us were usually less than kind. _Wonder if he feels the same about me?_ I thought.

Dax suddenly fluttered in my face; "Honami!" he shrilled gleefully, "How come you never told me you had a crush on Hiei?"

I felt the color drain from my face when he did that. I knew Dax could read my thoughts, but I never pictured him as a nark! _Wait…Hiei could read my thoughts, too!_ I turned to him, my face fully blushed, and saw a hint of annoyance in his eyes. But, he was not looking at me, he was looking at Dax.

"There's nothing more dishonorable," he said, "than someone who invades another's thoughts uninvited—except those who expose those secret thoughts voluntarily in spite of the owner's wishes. You shall stay here in Ningenkai until Honami's training is completed today. Be gone, impudent creature." He sent Dax away then abruptly faced me; "As for you," he continued, "I didn't know your thoughts until now, because I don't invade the thoughts of 'friends' without permission. However, I will tell you this: drop all your delusions of love and romance. They make you weak."

"That's not true!" I exclaimed going from embarrassed to angry in point two seconds, "Yusuke should be enough proof for you that our emotions grant us strength beyond strength! You're just too freakin' narrow-minded and self-absorbed to realize that!"

"That's quite enough, child! Now hurry up!"

The portal had opened up by then, and Hiei jumped through leaving me behind. I was steaming with anger now. I wanted to cry, but tough girls do not shed tears…no! My throat was starting to tighten from holding it all in as a few silent tears escaped my eyes and burned down my cheeks. I swallowed down hard to ease the slight throbbing pain I was causing myself by hiding my terribly hurt feelings. Dax, who had only hidden in a tree rather than leave, appeared again.

"Hey!" he shouted defensively, "He had no right to talk to you like that! Let me go pluck his eyes out, Honami!"

I regained my composure and caught Dax by the wings before he could go after Hiei; "No, Dax," I said, "I'll deal with it myself. He thinks I'm weak because I love. Well, let's just see how much stronger hate really is."

Dax seemed to tremble at my new attitude as he perched silently on my shoulder. Together we went through the portal to Reikai, though Hiei was not pleased to see him with me. At this point, I did not care. He had shot me down pretty heard, so I had no more a reason to respect him than I did blowing my head open with a .44 Magnum. He noticed me ignoring his glares, but he did not address it.

"I told the imp to stay behind," he said.

"Dax stays with me at all times," I retorted defiantly, "If you got a problem with that, take it up with me!" I waited for him to respond, but he remained quiet; "Good," I said, "now let's get this lesson over with so I can go home."

For the remainder of the day, any time Hiei spoke to me, I responded in the same, uncaring and rebellious tone he would take with me. He seemed to be annoyed by this, but again, I did not care. Dax was right; Hiei had no right to talk down to me like that. He had no right to call me weak because of my emotions. Of course, the only emotion I had now was contempt towards him. In fact, I was so mad that all I wanted to do was pound him into the ground—all my will was set on it. That feeling seemed to put a boost in my ability to follow him no matter how fast he was moving. For the first time since I have known him, I was able to read his energy signature and follow his every move. I sensed him coming up behind me so I quickly spun around and gave him a swift right hook in the cheek and sent him careening across the grassy field and into a tree. I then walked over to him as he was collecting himself from that attack.

"Tell me," I said to him without emotion, "does my hatred and anger truly make me stronger, or is it no more than a sign of fear? If showing emotion towards someone I care about makes me weak then I should hate that person to make me stronger…is that what you're telling me?" Hiei was silent, still massaging his face from my assault. I scoffed: "Your problem is that you're afraid of sacrifice. Love is just that: sacrificing yourself for the fate of another. That is what makes me strong, not how hard I can hit you." He still gave no response. "Fine," I sighed, "You know what? This little exercise is a waste of both our time, so I'm going back home."

I turned away from him and headed back towards the portal. I was halfway there when Hiei called for me.

"Honami!" he shouted.

"Not hearing it!" I called back, closing my eyes and covering my ears, "La-la-la-la-la!"

"Honami!" he called again.

Again I ignored him until Dax let out a frantic shriek: "Honami, watch out!!"

At that point, I looked up and saw a massive energy ball heading in my direction from an unseen origin. Oh no! I thought in despair, I was so angry with Hiei that I was completely blinded from sensing that! There was no way I was going to be able to dodge that, so I just turned away from it screaming. Before I knew it, I felt myself being lifted off the ground by the waist and moved out of the line of fire. When I had opened my eyes, I was standing behind the four Spirit Detectives Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei. I looked over at the spot where I was originally standing and saw that it was no more than a crater in the ground.

"What's going on?" I asked fearfully, "What was that thing?"

"Koenma said a middle A-class demon prisoner somehow broke out of his cell," Kurama stated, "and now we must re-capture him before he lays waste to Reikai…are you all right?"

"Yeah," I huffed, "Thanks to you."

Kurama looked at me quizzically; "I'm not the one you should be thanking," he said as he nodded towards Hiei.

I turned to him in shock, but he had his back to me waiting for the assailant to strike again. _'After all that trash-talk'_ I said to him in thought _'after that spout about love being a weakness, you still risked your life for mine? Why?'_

Hiei did not respond, and I did not have a chance to say anything more as a second energy ball flew towards our bearing causing us to scatter in separate directions. At this point, Hiei's reasons for his actions were irrelevant as we all rushed for cover from the onslaught. When the assailant finally showed his face, his assailment became more wide-ranging. The attacks varied from earth, water, wind, and fire…this Apparition was a master of all the Four Elements! He sent fire after Kurama and his plants, wind after Yusuke to redirect his Reigun, earth towards Kuwabara because he had the worst balance, and water obstacles at Hiei to slow him down. All the while, he successfully kept us as far apart from each other as possible to keep us from gaining the advantage of numbers. This creature was fast—perhaps even faster than Hiei—yet his presence felt familiar. Why this was so, I did not know…or maybe I did and just did not remember where I felt this energy before. Then he showed his face. _Oh, yeah,_ I thought, _he's the reason Koenma wanted me to train to be a Spirit Detective._ _That's just weird. It's the same energy signature, but I thought he was only like an upper C-class demon._ Botan, Yusuke's detective assistant, had appeared next to me with the intention to take me to a safer distance from the battle. I refused intently.

"But your training is not near complete, Honami, dear," she pleaded with me.

"And this would be when Hiei would say:" I answered her then mimicked Hiei's voice, "'This is the perfect time to test your abilities in a real battle!'" I pointed to the demon that was rampaging around; "Is that Zaq Kimosha?" I asked doubtfully, "The demon Koenma had me track down to prove my Spirit Awareness?"

Botan nodded; "Yes," she said, "and he has proven to be cleverer than we thought. He faked his class level by reducing his energy allowing himself to be captured. Then, he bided his time until he memorized the patterns of the guard, revealed his true power then broke free!"

"Well, that's just perfect!" I yelled sarcastically, "He must've known that the guys wouldn't stand a chance if they couldn't follow his signature, and they can't do that if they have to play dodge ball with Kimosha's attacks!" I made my way back towards the battle.

"Honami, wait!" Botan called after me, "I really suggest you rethink this!"

_No way,_ I thought to myself, _I'm not letting these guys die until I thank Hiei for saving me…and the best way to thank him is to show him that I learned something from all our training…to show him that I was not just another kid he had to baby-sit…to show him that…love…is…NOT…a weakness!_

I ran as fast as I could to the heart of the battle with many words of encouragement for the guys. Not only that, but I had found a way to reunite them. Since I could read Kimosha's energy, I could easily anticipate all his attacks at once rather than one at a time, like the guys were forced to, so I was able to decipher a quick and easy "connect-the-dots" path that would allow us our advantage of numbers. Kuwabara was the first to catch on as he began following my course that would lead him to Yusuke, all the way shielding both of us from attack with his Rei-Sword. Once the two of them were together, I left them and made a B-Line for Kurama who was having trouble walking his plants through flames. He was able to retrace my steps and headed towards Yusuke and Kuwabara alone while I dashed for Hiei—and let me just say, it is not easy dodging water! At that moment, Kimosha realized what I was doing and he began to concentrate on me. Luckily, he was still being forced to fight the others at once, so his attention was divided. However, he was still able to trip me up; just as I jumped out of the way of one of the unnatural geysers, another one exploded under me, sending me high up into the air and into a free-fall to the ground. I let out a surprised scream, and Hiei saw me. He caught me just before I could hit the ground, but his expression was a less than pleased one, to say the least.

"What are you doing?!" Hiei yelled as he released me from his hold, "You are going to get yourself killed!"

_'Better me than you, right?'_ I asked him, knowing he could hear my thought _'No more baby-sitting…right?'_

_'Stupid girl!'_ he retorted _'I don't…'_ his words diminished and his anger subsided, being replaced by the surprise of his own lexis _'I don't…feel that way about you, all right?! I…I…'_ he trailed off again, and for a moment as we continued to outrun Kimosha's watery onslaught, there was a terribly awkward silence. Then he spoke again _'I…care…'_

I was at a loss for words…he _cared_? He would never say that out loud…so he did not. I found myself respecting him for that. It is really not as easy to hide one's feelings as Hiei made it look. Everything seemed to slow down around us as I stared into his eyes. Every word he ever said to me before now was erased as though they were never spoken, and the only thing I could hear was "I care about you, Honami." I was partially pulled from my trance when Hiei's countenance changed to a frightened one…and I could sense why! Zaq Kimosha had sent a dangerous beam of energy that combined the four elements in our direction! Hiei tried to move me out of the way so that he would take the hit, but I would not be moved.

_'Not this time'_ I said, grabbing him with both hands by the shirt _'This time, _**I**_ save _**you**

I brought my lips to his and kissed him long and hard. I could feel his body tense up from my touch, and his sword fell from his hand as he began to relax. Actually, it was quite amazing! It only lasted a minute, but it felt like forever! I slowly released him then took advantage of his temporarily weakened state, pushing him into a semi-deep chasm that had been created during Kimosha's rampage. I turned to face Kimosha's fire and spread my arms out waiting for contact.

I never felt anything. I never heard anything. I never said anything. There was no pain, no screaming, no crying as Kimosha's attack ripped a hole through my mid-section and pushed me back a couple of feet, but once I hit the ground, all my senses came rushing back to me. All I could feel was cold, and I could taste the bitterness of my own blood as it flooded around my tongue. I was still unable to speak as my body was struggling to draw oxygen into my lungs. However, all sound was ringing loud and clear once a defensive and angry voice reached my ears…

"DRAGOOONNNN…!!" it was Hiei, "…OOOOOF…THE DARKNESS… FLAME!!!"

I could just barely see the dark fires of the underworld fly over me and swallow Kimosha's entire essence mercilessly. His screams echoed throughout the Reikai Valley then were suddenly silenced by Hiei's unforgiving dragon. Vaguely, I could hear the pounding of feet as Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama ran to where Hiei and I were, yelling our names worriedly. Hiei was ordering them to stay back as he begun to cradle me in his lap. I could see all the guys crowding around us, and they all had a sadness in their eyes; I was going to die, and they knew it. I could hear their denials…

"You're going to be okay, Honami," Yusuke said…it was the first time he ever spoke to me without saying something perverse, "We're going to take care of you."

"Yes, please hold on," Kurama pleaded.

Their words were slurred in my ears, but I could still understand them they each agreed that I would survive this. I knew better…and so did they. I suddenly saw Botan appear before me, but she was clearly not in her human body. I could tell because she never wore that tacky pink kimono unless she was guiding souls to the afterlife. She had tears in her eyes knowing I was her next assignment, but I was still clinging to my life.

_'We have to go,'_ sweetie she seemed to choke on her words even though she was speaking telepathically.

_'Please, Botan'_ I answered _'give me a little more time.'_

She only nodded as I turned to Hiei. He was scolding me again.

"Idiot!" he yelled, "What the hell were you trying to prove by throwing your life away like that?!"

"I didn't waste my life," I corrected with a weak chuckle, "My actions were not meant to prove anything…I owed you my life for earlier…and…so I sacrificed it…for you…we are simply…even…"

It took a moment for all that to register for him, but when it did, he allowed a small, soft smile appear across his face;"Hn," he said, "I can live with that."

I could tell he finally understood the strength of human emotions…though again, I knew he would never admit it out loud. That was enough to satisfy me, so I let go…completely. My soul stepped out of my body and stood next to Botan; _'Okay'_ I said _'I'm ready.'_ And she guided me to the other side, with my heart forever tied with that of the dark angel Hiei.

**The End**


End file.
